Schiano's future tied to Glennon's development

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Greg Schiano shouts to his team in the first half of Sunday's NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte, N.C.

AP PHOTO / BOB LEVERONE

DICK SCANLON, Lakeland Ledger Correspondent

Published: Monday, December 2, 2013 at 7:57 p.m.

Last Modified: Monday, December 2, 2013 at 7:57 p.m.

TAMPA - Sunday’s 27-6 loss at Carolina clinched a third straight losing season for the Buccaneers, two of them under Greg Schiano.

Four games remain on the schedule, presumably with Schiano’s future as the head coach riding on whether some legitimate hope can be generated for next year. And the best chance for that will have to come from rookie quarterback Mike Glennon.

“I’m really encouraged with Mike’s development, even though yesterday wasn’t one of his finest performances,” Schiano said Monday. “I think he’s a guy who will rebound.”

Glennon completed 14-of-21 passes for 180 yards with one interception against the Panthers, who sacked him five times in a game that emphatically ended Tampa Bay’s three-game winning streak. The play that stood out — and is likely to be best remembered from the one-sided loss — was a pass attempt that slipped out of Glennon’s hands and resulted in a fumble deep in Carolina territory early in the second quarter. The Bucs led 7-6 at the time, and rest of the game was all Panthers.

“I think he made a statement he’ll learn from those things. He already has,” Schiano said. “When he and I are talking, he’s just riveted on every word. You love coaching a guy like that.”

Indeed, Schiano’s future is tied directly to Glennon’s rapid development in what remains of this lost season.

It also isn’t going to get easier on the injury front. Schiano reported Monday that linebacker Jonathan Casillas is probably going to miss the rest of the season with a knee injury. Casillas will be the 13th Buc on injured reserve, not including Carl Nicks, who has played in only two games, or cornerback Darrelle Revis, who left Sunday’s game early with what Schiano described as “pain in his upper torso area.”

Revis’ latest injury does not appear to be serious, and Schiano predicted: “He’ll fight through whatever discomfort he has to play, if he can play.”

In December, injuries tend to be more of a topic of discussion on teams that are 3-9, like the Bucs.

“It’s a typical NFL season,” said Dekoda Watson, Casillas’ likely replacement in the starting lineup for Sunday’s game against Buffalo. “The later you get, there’s a lot more injuries. There’s guys who start the season with injuries and just play with ’em, and after a while it’s just a little too much. It’s nothing I’m surprised about. When somebody goes down, you’re the starter now so you’ve got to be ready to go.”

The Bucs are coming of their two worst games of the season in terms of offensive production. They gained only 229 yards at Detroit, and 206 yards at Carolina against what is now the NFL’s top-ranked defense. The Bucs rank 31st on offense.

Schiano acknowledged that the only way the Bucs could have beaten the Panthers was the way they beat the Lions — by taking a close game into the fourth quarter and getting a big break or two.

But by the time the fourth quarter started Sunday, Carolina led 24-6.

“We started off good,” said defensive end Adrian Clayborn, “but stuff happens within the game and guys get frustrated. So you’ve got to learn how to play through that stuff.”

<p><em>TAMPA</em> - Sunday's 27-6 loss at Carolina clinched a third straight losing season for the Buccaneers, two of them under Greg Schiano.</p><p>Four games remain on the schedule, presumably with Schiano's future as the head coach riding on whether some legitimate hope can be generated for next year. And the best chance for that will have to come from rookie quarterback Mike Glennon.</p><p>“I'm really encouraged with Mike's development, even though yesterday wasn't one of his finest performances,” Schiano said Monday. “I think he's a guy who will rebound.”</p><p>Glennon completed 14-of-21 passes for 180 yards with one interception against the Panthers, who sacked him five times in a game that emphatically ended Tampa Bay's three-game winning streak. The play that stood out — and is likely to be best remembered from the one-sided loss — was a pass attempt that slipped out of Glennon's hands and resulted in a fumble deep in Carolina territory early in the second quarter. The Bucs led 7-6 at the time, and rest of the game was all Panthers.</p><p>“I think he made a statement he'll learn from those things. He already has,” Schiano said. “When he and I are talking, he's just riveted on every word. You love coaching a guy like that.”</p><p>Indeed, Schiano's future is tied directly to Glennon's rapid development in what remains of this lost season.</p><p>It also isn't going to get easier on the injury front. Schiano reported Monday that linebacker Jonathan Casillas is probably going to miss the rest of the season with a knee injury. Casillas will be the 13th Buc on injured reserve, not including Carl Nicks, who has played in only two games, or cornerback Darrelle Revis, who left Sunday's game early with what Schiano described as “pain in his upper torso area.”</p><p>Revis' latest injury does not appear to be serious, and Schiano predicted: “He'll fight through whatever discomfort he has to play, if he can play.”</p><p>In December, injuries tend to be more of a topic of discussion on teams that are 3-9, like the Bucs.</p><p>“It's a typical NFL season,” said Dekoda Watson, Casillas' likely replacement in the starting lineup for Sunday's game against Buffalo. “The later you get, there's a lot more injuries. There's guys who start the season with injuries and just play with 'em, and after a while it's just a little too much. It's nothing I'm surprised about. When somebody goes down, you're the starter now so you've got to be ready to go.”</p><p>The Bucs are coming of their two worst games of the season in terms of offensive production. They gained only 229 yards at Detroit, and 206 yards at Carolina against what is now the NFL's top-ranked defense. The Bucs rank 31st on offense.</p><p>Schiano acknowledged that the only way the Bucs could have beaten the Panthers was the way they beat the Lions — by taking a close game into the fourth quarter and getting a big break or two.</p><p>But by the time the fourth quarter started Sunday, Carolina led 24-6.</p><p>“We started off good,” said defensive end Adrian Clayborn, “but stuff happens within the game and guys get frustrated. So you've got to learn how to play through that stuff.”</p><p>Glennon may have to learn very quickly, for Schiano's sake.</p>